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Monday, 13 June 2016

Interview with Nosipho Dumisa and Travis Taute - SAFTA Best Short film Nommer 37 conversation.

It is Youth month. I am inspired
by young people who do amazing things in their field. I take every opportunity
in meeting them to hear what they have got to say. I sat down with Nosipho
Dumisa and Travis Taute of Gambit Films, they’re Cape Town based filmmakers.
Their recent South African Film and Television Award for Best Short film “Nommer 37” has certified their positions
as Filmmakers of the future. They are currently in Europe on a two week trip
hosted by the Academie des Cesar in France for the Panorama festival along with
directors from across the world who have been recognized for their work and
achievements. They speak about co-directing and what else we can look forward
too.

Nthabiseng Mosieane: How was “Nommer 37” conceived and why did this story come to life.

Nosipho Dumisa:"Nommer 37" was a concept Gambit
Films had been holding onto for a long time. It was actually a concept born by
one of the writer / directors in our company, Daryne Joshua. It started when –
out of frustration from what felt like stagnation in our attempt to crack our
first feature film due to lack of finances at the time – we were brainstorming
one location stories that would be ingenious, entertaining and small in scale.
We’ve all loved Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear
Window for a long time and a few of my colleagues at Gambit come from the
Cape Flats background – so the basic concept was conceived out of that. But it
would be some time before we truly developed the story. It was when kykNET
called us, asking us to hurriedly submit a concept to the Silwerskermfees short
film competition in 2014 that we thought this would be a great opportunity to
put together a proof of concept for this one location story. In a matter of
about 10 days, we developed the characters and storyline and submitted script. Each
of us split duties to bring it all about and I remember that it was a
completely crazy time! The work paid off as we were accepted into the
competition and made the short film with the arduous efforts of some fantastic
and fiercely faithful crew and cast. We went on to win big at the festival,
being the only short film to be nominated in all five categories and winning
two of them. Following that, the short film went on to greater success at
various festivals, whilst we began working on the development of the full
feature film.

For us
this is more than just a film, it’s a story we all relate to and it’s a
relevant one for many people around the world. Everyone understands poverty and
the desperation that comes with it. But this isn’t a film that preaches, it is
simply a moment in time and provides a thrilling ride for viewers into a
subculture so unique through a story that is undeniably universal.

Travis Taute: “Nommer 37” was actually the brainchild of our business partner and
fellow writer / director Daryne Joshua. For a while, we [at Gambit] have been
working on developing a ‘contained’ film – one with a single, if not very few
locations. When we were asked to submit a short film for the 2014 Silwerskerm
Fees, we sieved through a bunch of concepts that we had all developed before
ultimately landing on “Nommer 37”
which, we felt had resonated with us the most. We also wanted to make a genre
film, in the case a thriller, set within a very unique landscape and subculture
that we felt hasn’t been represented on screen in this form yet – where the
basis was entertainment and not necessarily social commentary. From there,
Daryne, Nosipho and myself developed and wrote the story together. The idea was
to use the short film as a proof of concept or rather a calling card for the
feature film which, has now been developed and we’ll be shooting in July 2016.

NM: What does co-directing mean and
how was your working relationship through the filmmaking process?

ND: Honestly this is a difficult
question to answer because co-directing looks so different on everyone and I’m
not sure that there is one formula. However if I can try to explain what co-directing is – it is more than
one individual taking on the responsibility for the creative vision across the
board on a film. You work as a team, whether it is splitting responsibilities
or working as one on everything. To answer the second part of the question, I
will begin first with saying how important it is to have mutual respect for
your co-director as an equally important contributor to the creative vision.
You will not always agree but it is important to respect and value each other.
Thankfully, THANKFULLY, Travis and I had mutual respect in spades because we
definitely did not always agree. What we both shared however was a feeling of
what we wanted to achieve with the film and what it would look like in the end.
That made the entire experience so much easier than it could’ve been, and it was
truly a pleasure. I feel that I learned so much from merely watching and
listening to his reasoning and style – I hope he would be able to say the same
of working with me.

TT: Co-directing is a very interesting
concept. Nosipho and I are both incredibly opinionated and from very different
cultural backgrounds, but what was important to us and was that we shared the
same vision for the project from the get go which, we did. As a collective, at
Gambit, we are all creatively involved in each other’s projects and so finding
a voice for the film, as an individual and as a directing pair became both
challenging at times and exciting. We had tough days, I won’t lie, but the
experience all together was thrilling. Directing can be a very solitary job
despite the huge team you’re interacting with. Most of the responsibility lies
on your shoulders to deliver a great film so it was fantastic to have someone
to bounce ideas off and I think ultimately, we each brought a very unique
flavor to the film while still operating under the same creative banner so to
speak.

NM: Congratulations on your SAFTA
(South African Film & TV Award) win. This is quite an acknowledgement and I
am sure it gives you validation that your story telling is relevant and on the
pulse of South African culture. What kind of stories do you want to be known
for collectively and independently?

ND: Thank you! Winning any award is
gratifying and humbling because it reminds you that there is much yet to be
done. Winning the SAFTA was certainly validation for us as a company and as
filmmakers because we have been doing this for some time, and for our peers to
recognize us on a national level – well there are simply no words really.
Collectively, Gambit Films strives to make important, daring, and entertaining
films with universal stories that are commercially viable on an international
scale. We truly want to see the local film industry grow to a point where it is
able to stand on its own and export its films to the world, showing our culture
in a way that entertains. We love genre! As for me, I want all of the above and
I especially want to make films that people will remember forever and connect
to because the films left them with a positive feeling. I want to tell stories
that are based in a real world, with real people but with a positive message at
the end of the day. I believe it’s important not to sugarcoat the world we live
in, but I have an optimistic point of view about it and this is what I want to
say in my films. I hope that answers the question – I wouldn’t want to box
myself into a genre.

TT: I think collectively, we have one
mantra and that is to tell a good story. At the end of the day, that’s what all
the greatest films come down to despite the extreme variations in budgets. We
tend to lean more towards genre films, films that are thrilling and
entertaining but that have unique characters set in a world that we know and
understand. I think that’s how you remain authentic, and I think that’s why
people responded to “Nommer 37” so
much. We represented real South African characters but told a story that was
(hopefully) entertaining. Audiences are smart and will instantly decipher
whether or not you’re being truthful as a filmmaker. The goal is to stay
relevant of course, but also to create stories that are timeless. As an
individual, I think it’s important to tell stories you would want to see. I’m a
film junky and a very big critic when it comes to other films so I employ the
same attitude when creating anything that I intend to show the world.

NM: The good news keep rolling in, the
short now will be a feature film. How did this development come about and how
do you feel with this undertaking? Will you both co-direct as well?

ND: Thank you once again! The concept
was always for a feature film and making the short film provided us an
opportunity to test the concept. We jumped almost immediately after completion
of the short, into developing the feature. We are now in pre-production and I will
be directing. We all worked on the story together as a team (as we do all of
our projects) whilst I wrote the script.

TT: Yeah, it has been one helluva
roller coaster of a ride and in truth, one we really didn’t anticipate. We just
set out to make a good film and it has indeed been incredibly validating to see
the film being received as well as it has been. ‘’Nommer 37’’ was always intended to be a feature film so we used
the Silwerskerm Fees as a platform to test the audience’s response to the
story. After the immense success of the short film, we quickly began developing
the feature film with our partners on the project, Kalahari Pictures. We’ll now
be shooting the feature in July 2016 which, we will not be co-directing due to
scheduling, despite how much fun we had on the short! Nosipho will be directing
‘’Nommer 37’’, as her debut feature
film while I will be in prep for my first feature film, “Indemnity”, which will commence principal photography in October
2016. Big year!

NM: You are both young achievers and filmmakers
of the future. Breaking down many notions of age and the traditional idea’s of
going up the career ladder, you are business partners in the company you
represent along with a great team. How important is understanding that you can
command your steps in your careers?

ND: I think it’s extremely important for
us as young “achievers” to be aware of our dreams and the different paths open
to us. There is no one way to achieve anything and with self-awareness comes
the understanding of the path most suited to you. You can not wait for things
to be handed to you, you must be willing to take risk whatever path you choose.
For me, all of my decisions are based on faith – faith first before all other
things. If God tells me go, then I go and so far so good!

TT: Yoh, that’s a question and a half!
It is of utmost importance to know that you can take control of your career.
There will always be things that are out of your control, but your response to
them is what defines your ability to achieve success. We’re all incredibly
ambitious, that is the first thing we identified as having in common – at least
I did. We want to tell stories that resonate around the world, not just in
South Africa. Upon understanding this goal, we knew we couldn’t go about things
the ‘normal’ way, and that the path we were choosing would be harder but more
fulfilling. So, we chose to partner with people who share the same goals, work
ethic and values that we employ on a day to day basis because as much as we
have individual careers to look after, we are first and foremost a company, a
brand, and a family. Once you identify where it is that you want to go in life,
that’s when you start putting the pieces in place to ensure that you get there.
I think this is the most important thing that people forget: that nothing just
happens, you have to be dedicated to an ultimate goal and take charge of making
it happen. This is how Gambit Films was born.

NM: The Award has drawn international
interest. You will be traveling soon, tell me more about this exciting trip?

ND: It’s so exciting! As I answer your
questions, I’m at the Dubai airport waiting for my connection to Paris. After
winning the SAFTA, we were contacted by the Academie des Cesar in France,
requesting that we enter the short film into the Panorama 2016, a festival
covering cities around Europe. The festival aims to showcase short films
awarded by their national academies. So for example, the BAFTA or OSCAR winning
short films of 2016 were all entered into the festival along with ours. The
film will be screened in all of these cities and Travis and I have been invited
on a tour as part of the 2016 Nuis en Or (Golden Nights) where we will join the
other short film directors from around the world at screenings of the different
films. We will travel as a group to Paris, Athens and Rome and learn about the
culture of the film industry in these countries whilst mingling with some of
the most important filmmakers in Europe – it is an incredible opportunity!

TT: Yeah, upon winning the SAFTA for best short
film, Nosipho and I, were invited to participate in Les Nuits en Or (Golden
Nights Festival) along with 29 other directors from all around the world who
had won their national academy award (Oscar, Bafta, etc.) for best short film.
The Tour entails visiting three European cities, Athens, Rome and Paris, where
our short film, Nommer 37, will be screened to the public and where we will
participate in Q&A’s at screenings, embark on cultural tours of the cities
and discover each city’s cinematic history under the tutelage and guidance of
the French Academy of Cinema. We will also interact with producers,
distributors and industry veterans from various European countries to enable
potential international co-productions and establish long-lasting partnerships.
We are extremely grateful and excited for this amazing opportunity and all that
it may bring to our future projects.

NM: I know that your award is at your
company office. If you were given your own one to stay at home, where would you
place it?

ND: Honestly I don’t know – I just
don’t think about things like that. I’m sure if it were at home I would make a
plan but right now I can’t even imagine. I don’t say this to sound conceited at
all, but I tend to limit the amount of celebration. I guess I am always nervous
that I will dwell in past achievements instead of looking forward to the
greater task still at hand – and right now for me, that’s “Nommer 37”, the feature film. I am incredibly grateful for the
award as I’ve said, but I am thinking
about the Goliath that is this feature film and hoping that I don’t mess it up
haha!

TT: I’d place it in an empty cabinet
in the lounge to remind myself that it needs company and that I should be
working on making sure he has a few friends in the near future.

NM: So the last question I want to ask
you is; considering that this year is the 40th Anniversary of the
Soweto Uprising in 1976 and now being the Youth of 2016, how are you making the
Youth of 1976 proud?

ND: In 1976 the youth fought against a
system that sought to dictate peoples’ identity through an oppressive education
system. To say that the youth at that time couldn’t imagine a future where they
had choice would be to lie – they could
envision it very well and that is why that stood up for that future. What they
paid for with their blood and freedom, I am able to claim freely and at times I
think we take that for granted. I do not waste my time with complacency – I
dare to dream big like they did and I am taking my own risks. I have decided to
take ownership of my future by starting my own business and choosing the
stories I tell. As I continue to learn in this industry, I try to open doors
for other young film makers of colour and pass on any knowledge I may have
gained. I’m not sure if I’m making that amazing group of people proud with the
choices I’ve made but I really hope so.

TT: Well for starters, we live in a
very different world than the youth of 1976. There are a lot more opportunities
for people from all different backgrounds these days. What I would encourage
people to do is look at all the possibility and not let your circumstances
define which direction your career heads in. I’ve seen people come from the
worst of circumstances and rise up to accomplish the most extraordinary things.
I’ve always felt like we’ve gone against the grain. Every time someone told me
it couldn’t be done, it drove me further to prove that it could. Where we
didn’t see opportunity, we decided to create opportunity. Think innovatively.
Be rebellious if you have to, and employ an attitude of mind over matter
because the belief that you can do something will give you the perseverance to
accomplish it.